CHINA'S Navy has moved the country's only aircraft carrier into the controversial areas of the Miyako Strait and the Bashi Channel in the South China Sea, raising tensions in the region and stoking a response from the US Pacific Fleet stationed in Okinawa.
The US Navy has conducted nine combat manoeuvres in the South China Sea last year, according to records provided by US Pacific Fleet.
The manoeuvres are designed to challenge China’s claim to maritime rights and dominion over several island chains in the region, which have put the US and its allies at loggerheads with China.